Son’s 1st Deer; Lessons in Hunting and Life

[Pacific Ghost]

My youngest son and I were excited to learn that he drew one of the west side youth deer tags this year. He would be afforded a head start prior to the general season, along with having the ability to harvest any one deer through the end of October. We had decided he would be able to miss school the very first day and would then hunt evenings daily after that. Last Monday was the start and I had located a nice 3x2 for him to target the next morning. However, an issue had come up at home when I was away, and that plan fell through. My son had lost his privilege to miss school and hunt that morning. This was tough for him, and maybe even harder on me, but better for all in the long run. So, we ended up out there that evening instead, and got down in there and set up for a sit. There was a lot of talk about what we were doing, and how and why we were doing it that way. Lots of glassing yields us a few does, and then right before dark we have a good discussion about why one of the little alders down in the bottom is moving side to side when the other ones appeared to be standing still. We never did see the whole deer, much less his head, but we knew a buck was there as the necessary shooting light had run out.
The whole of Tuesday night was spent driving around the woods just trying to put our eyes on some animals. It was windy and pouring rain that entire evening, and the area we had been going is a pretty good ride in by ATV, and getting cold and soaked wasn’t going to be a good situation for him at this point of his young hunting career. Despite the rain and lack of other traffic, that night was super quiet, and the next evening we were able to get back into the target area to find a buck to shoot since that is what he was really hoping to do. After a glassing session at the first stop we picked up to move and immediately spotted a deer down on the edge of the clearcut that had been outside our view until now. He did know we were there but stuck around long enough to give us a chance, and it just didn’t come together. We were able to get out of site and get a pack down for a rest, but the steep angle combined with the amount of grass blocking the view on the edge of the break did us in. The scope was also a bit too dialed for the setup, so it was a lesson learned.
Thursday evening was another tough one. We had something come up again on the home front, so the young buck was not able to hunt that evening. I know, I know, how does this even happen with such big consequences on the line. But it was what it was, and the long-term goals in this case trumped the short-term ones. So, we found ourselves separated, with him at home and me keeping tabs on the hill, and sure enough the original buck came out early that night to feed with nobody there to pursue him.
Thursday fades into Friday, we’ve sorted some things out, and now we’re ready to see what lies ahead. We glassed a few areas to start the evening and we were able to pinpoint a few different does. One of them was undisturbed with a good shot setup but he elected to pass. We ended the evening with a wet rainy sit in an ambush setup near where we’d almost gotten a shot at that previous buck on Wednesday.
The next morning brought more opportunities for does. It was valuable time to work on target acquisition, but again he chose to hold off. As the day progressed, we reviewed the order of tactical priority that is necessary to be consistently successful in pursuing the blacktail deer. First the wind and thermals, then the need to be unseen, and also to be unheard. There was conversation about site lines and angles, and the necessity of going slow. And when you start going slow, the need to slow down more, and then a little more after that. This was a short day due to other family events, but we would be back at it tomorrow again.

[Pacific Ghost]

By now the general opener had arrived, and other hunters along with it. With the added pressure, I reminded him why we were doing things differently than most others and not just driving the roads and moving from location to location. We started down the timbered gully before daybreak, with the plan to quietly pick our way through, while also being able to glass the slopes of the cut to our side. We had the wind, but the conditions were a bit too calm for the amount of debris we encountered on the track we needed to be on. Ultimately, we had to alter our plans and angle up across the cut to an old skid road above, which put us back on a much quieter path.
As we crept and glassed along, I was able to pick out part of the head of a bedded deer at the brushy edge of the tree line 125 yards below. I confirmed that it was a buck as we started looking for a spot to set up. This situation was very similar to the one days prior; steep angle down with grass on the break obstructing the view, except this time the deer has no idea we are there. Unfortunately, my son cannot locate the deer. He knows the general area between a profound bush and stump, but it is impossible with the naked eye, and very difficult to find with binoculars at that distance, even with experienced eyes. We end up re-positioning to the left, and out comes the spotting scope. I get it as high as I can with the grass but only as much as necessary because the deer has got one eye on the timber and one into the cut toward us. The spotter is focused at 60 power, the deer’s head is near center, and he still can’t see it. This goes on for nearly an hour as we work through some patience and a little frustration. I adjust it just slightly again and with one last look he gets excited as he finally lays eyes on the deer. Apparently, he was only seeing a small stump in the glass just under the deer that he thought “might” be it. I don’t get too anxious these days, but by this time I’m starting to get a little nervous.
There is a decent log laying to our right that we had previously chosen for a makeshift rest if we needed it in order to gain a little elevation. I crawled up there and placed my pack over it, and then the gun, and dialed the scope up to 9 power to see what a shot would look like. The head or foliage blocking neck or body shot was a no go. I let my son know and just a few moments later the buck stood from his bed and completely exposed himself broadside. We switched places as he crawled over and got set up. He picked up his target very quickly now, and I told him to take his time, flip off the safety and fire when calm and ready while I watched with the binos. He took some deep slow breaths and slowly squeezed as he was settling back on the sweet spot from just a tiny bit of drift. Boom! What an amazing sound to hear one of your kids shoot at their first ever game animal. As another round was chambered into the 308 Remington Youth, it appeared like the deer was going to fall but then went slight left and then down. He looked a bit wobbly as he crossed the tree line, then mild crashing, and then silence.

[Pacific Ghost]

We retrieved the spent casing, celebrated, and reviewed our confidence in the situation, as I expressed that we still had the retrieval ahead. I had my son identify a couple of distinct land features near the shot location before we started our way down since it often looks a lot different once you start moving.  We arrived at the location of the deer bed, and immediately spotted some blood close by and then actually saw him lying in the timber 20 yards below. More celebration ensued. Instead of heading right down though, we spend time tracking the zigzagging blood trail to add to his future knowledge. A quick call to mom, tagging of the deer (along with a reminder that he was responsible for packing his own stuff and always knowing where it was), and a quick bite to eat and drink before gutting school began. I am proud of him for learning from his mistakes, putting in the time that he did, passing up deer, and for being satisfied with the one he got even though there are bigger deer to be had and a lot of season left to go. Man, I really enjoyed this time together. I got a kick out of how much faster than me he wanted to go, and how much louder than me that he could talk and shuffle his snack wrappers. And how I now know for sure that a skinny 12 year old literally can’t pull his own weight. It was 140 yards up through the nasty, and another 260 after that. But he can shoot, and he sure can ferry the packs and guns. 

[Pacific Ghost]

Couple more pics.

[Taco280AI]

Great time spent in the woods 

[7mmfan]

Excellent write up! Good work to the young man, and good work to Dad for being patient and towing the line when I'm sure you wanted to have him out in the woods as bad as he wanted to be there. Those are the lessons that stick.

[wadu1]

Way to go young man Good work Dad

[savagehunter]

Great story loved it.great job on both sides

[SeaRun1]

A lot to like coming from that story.  Congrats to your boy and thanks for the enjoyable read.  Sounds like you are bucking the tide and trying to raise him right.  We need that.

SR1

[huntnfmly]

Awesome congrats thanks for sharing

[jason stevens]

Congrats to the young hunter an way to go!!!!

[RobinHoodlum]

I love everything about the story I just read here! Thanks for sharing and for being a great father and mentor for your boy.

[brew]

Love it

[tgomez]

Congratulations young man, many more to come!

[Boss .300 winmag]

Nicely done both of you.👍